Bulgaria’s parliament speaker Natalia Kiselova rejected on May 13 a request by President Rumen Radev for calling a referendum on the adoption of the euro next year, saying that it violates the constitution.

Kiselova’s decision not to admit debates on Radev’s request came a day after he submitted it to parliament and quickly resolved the uncertainty as to whether lawmakers would discuss the proposal. It was made just weeks before the expected extraordinary convergence reports by the European Commission and the European Central Bank, which are widely expected to give a green light to Sofia to join the eurozone in January next year.

Kiselova said in a press release quoted by Mediapool news outlet that the proposal is inadmissible as it contradicts Bulgaria’s constitution, several EU treaties, and a recent Constitutional Court ruling.

“The proposal is not compliant with Article 5(4), in relation to Article 4(3) and Article 85(3) of the Constitution,” Kiselova explained in an official statement.

Radev’s referendum proposal, submitted on May 12, would have asked citizens “Do you agree that Bulgaria should adopt the euro as its single European currency in 2026?”

On the same day, Prime Minister Rossen Zhelyazkov and Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) governor Dimitar Radev signed a joint position endorsing the adoption of the euro on January 1 next year.

Zhelyazkov said that the position was meant to reassure EU partners that Bulgaria is a rule-of-law state committed to fulfilling its obligations.

“The efforts of Bulgarian society over the past two decades must be respected,” he said as quoted in a statement on the government’s website.

Zhelyazkov praised Kiselova’s decision as aligned with the principles of constitutional legality, thanking Bulgaria’s legal community for supporting the rule of law.

Radev responded to Kiselova's decision, accusing parliament of undermining democracy.

“In its fear of people’s voice, the new parliamentary majority trampled the constitution by using the speaker of the National Assembly,” he said in a statement on the presidency’s website.

“This act erodes what little trust remains in the institutions and exposes their claim to represent public interest,” Radev added.

Meanwhile, the European Commission approved Bulgaria’s medium-term fiscal plan, a key prerequisite for accession to the eurozone. The plan outlines how Bulgaria intends to keep its budget deficit below 3% of GDP and public debt under 60% through 2028, supported by over 120 reforms and investment measures. More than half of these are funded by the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility and cohesion funds.

Finance Minister Temenuzhka Petkova hailed the Commission’s approval. “This is excellent news for Bulgaria. It confirms our commitment to stable and sustainable public finances,” Petkova said in a video statement posted on the website of the finance ministry.